The Other Side of Darkness
by Artemis Evangelina
Summary: Riku gets kicked out of Maleficent's services, and winds up in a new world with original characters. Namely a girl, who believed her heart to be non-existant...until Riku appears. Riku/Origional
1. Prologue The Beginning of the End

Prologue- Author's Notes:  
~~So I'm getting addicted to Kingdom Hearts. What better way to show how much I'm loving this game by writing a fanfiction, right? Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, I'm really starting to like Riku, and therefore, this will be a Riku-centered fic. It takes place mainly right after Sora kicks his ass at Hallow Bastion, and will go right into an original story, with original characters. I hope you like it, since this is my first fanfic. And, on with the show:  
((disclaimerdisclaimerdisclaimerdisclaimerdisclaimer))~~  
  
  
  
The power felt great. It was like a drug that was being produced from his heart, pushing through his veins to every part of his body. Especially to his brain. There were times when he felt like he was on top of the world. Other times...other times he just sat back and wondered just what the hell he was doing. Riku knew he was just doing his best to save Kairi, though nothing he could do matched what Sora was doing. The perfect little Keyblade master. Stupid thing. How could something so pathetic cause so much trouble? No one had even heard of the Heartless until she came along. It took what little control Riku had left to keep from giving that bitch the beat down she deserved.  
  
Of course, that's exactly what had happened. Maleficent was giving him another one of those 'Be careful not to lose your heart to the Heartless Riku...your power...blah blah blah...someday you'll beat him...save Kairi...blah blah blah.' He kept trying to fight, but when Sora kept plowing ahead, even when Riku sent the nastiest stuff at him...it was just starting wearing away at his resolve. He knew deep down that it would be Sora who ended up with Kairi. That's the way these things always went. Evil guy likes girl, fights with good guy over girl, girl chooses good guy, and evil guy gets screwed up the ass.  
  
So Riku did the stupidest thing he could have ever done. He took it out on that evil witch. She was doing that thing with the spreading of the hands, raising of the staff, and the dramatic exit into the shadows bit. But he was quicker. In an instant he was behind her, his sword raised in an attack stance, ready to strike.  
  
"Riku, child, I have no time for games." She said in that grating monotone voice of hers.  
  
"This is no game." He replied, his eyes narrowing. Another drug flowed through his veins; hatred. It was this stupid witch who got him into this mess. Kairi would have been fine if she hadn't been on this suicidal mission to open the Door. A door that she would never open, even with his full cooperation. Kairi had been hurt for nothing. Riku might have had a chance with her if this stupid bitch had just kept to her brooding tower, but no. Nothing ever worked out to his advantage. Now he was worse off than before. Too bad he didn't go along with Sora in the first place. Things might have been different.  
  
"You're not thinking of attacking me, are you dear?" she asked, her voice laced with venom and a side dish of honey.  
  
"No, of course not. I'm just going to stand here and imagine your blood flowing from your body, onto my hands, and pooling on the floor because I have no better way to spend my time." Riku answered dangerously. That retort hit her hard, because her eyes glowed red with anger, and she seemed to grow another three feet in height.  
  
"You dare challenge me, Riku?"  
  
"Yes you stupid bitch. I want you dead. You've just been using me for your own hopeless gains. You've done NOTHING to help Kairi. So I'll help her by getting rid of you." He replied, getting tired of all the talking. So he rudely ended the conversation by jumping straight into the air, preparing himself to come right down on her head, splitting her brains in two, and if he was lucky, maybe even halving her entire body. But something went very wrong. He somehow managed to stay in the air, frozen in time, never feeling the satisfaction of watching the stupid evil bitch's death.   
  
"That was a very bad voice, child." Maleficent said in her matter-of-fact tone. She circled around him once, looking him over, as if trying to peer into the heart that she didn't have. "I can't keep untrustworthy people around. I would never get anything done if I were to do that. I'm sorry Riku, I really am. I had great plans for you, that would have lead to you having Kairi in your arms. But you leave me no choice now."  
The orb at the end of her staff starting glowing a radiant purple, pulsating and expanding every few seconds, drawing closer and closer to him.  
  
"Every choice has its repercussions, Riku. Both good and bad could end up harming you in the end. I had hoped to teach you how to distinguish these consequences, but I suppose I failed. May you learn on your own, then, since there will be no one to help you."  
  
The last few words she said were hard to make out, since the purple orb had now surrounded him, squeezing the very life from his body. Riku gasped for breath, but none came.  
  
Only the sweet release of darkness. Darkness has always been a friend.  
  
In that darkness, I thought I heard someone calling to me.  
  
I never paid much attention to those disembodied voices.  
  
I will sleep.  
  
  
  
End of Prologue- Author's Notes:  
~~Yes, there is more to come. I'm still kinda sketchy on where I'll be going with this, but I hope to get it going pretty soon. I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow, if the mood strikes. I hope you enjoyed your little trip into my mind. Please R/R if you plan on staying. ^^~~ 


	2. Chapter One: Dirun Island

Chapter One- Author's Notes:  
~~Well, here we go, as promised, I give you chapter one. Please play along with me, since I'm kinda flowing with the plot, putting it down as it comes to me. I have a general idea as to where I'm going with this, and I hope it will be pleasing to read, but still, it's in the works. And now, I give you Chapter One.  
(((*fanfare with the disclaimers*)))~~  
  
  
Something stirred in the back of Riku's mind, causing it to wake, leaving his body in its present state of unconsciousness. While he was half-heartedly trying to make sense of this situation, his entire being was made alert, due to a sharp pain that begun in his abdomen.  
  
"Ow!" He yelled, sitting up straight, looking into the eyes of a girl who looked ready to kick him again. "What the fuck was that for?"  
  
"So you are alive." She replied, ignoring his question. "Pity. I was going to feed you to Spot." Riku rubbed his stomach, and looked over the creature that drug him out of his blissful state of ignorance. She was thin, and looked to be as tall as he, with long hair the color of the sea, and golden eyes, which were currently glaring at him.  
  
"So, what are you doing here?" She asked him.  
  
"What's it to you?" Riku replied.  
  
"Gee...let me think now." The girl answered sarcastically. "I wake up to the sound of something falling out of the sky, and onto my HERB GARDEN!"   
  
  
Riku looked behind him, and sure enough, he was staring at a leaf of parsley. He got up, dusting himself off, and turned to face the girl again. His previous thought was correct. She was just about as tall as he was, though he was a few inches taller. Her eyes scanned over the garden, and he followed her gaze, and suddenly burst out laughing.  
  
"It's not funny..." She muttered darkly. In the garden, was a perfect silhouette of Riku's sleeping body. In the blink of an eye the girl drew a sword from the air, and went into an attack stance, her back to him.  
  
"What are.."  
  
"Shut up and draw your sword. And if you don't have one, then I suggest running like all hell. They're coming." Was all she said. Riku drew his blade, and stood beside her. A moment later, nearly two dozen Heartless came galloping down the pathway. The girl was a split second away from rushing head-first into the masses, but Riku stopped her.  
  
"Hold on." He told her.  
  
"What the fuck is your problem? These things are deadly, and I have to kill them now! If you're too chicken, then go find another island to haunt, cause I'm NOT going to be responsible for saving your ass!" She yelled at him. He raised a hand, silencing her, then turned to face the Heartless. Riku closed his eyes, and extended his hands, looking for his power over them. He found it, deep within his soul. He still had the power to control the Heartless. He snapped his fingers, and they stopped charging. He waved a hand, and they disappeared. The girl turned to face him, and Riku was caught off guard. He thought she would be pleased, but instead, she seemed really, really pissed.  
  
"Who are you?" She hissed.  
  
"My name is Riku. What's yours?"  
  
"Why do you want to know? Trying to steal my heart too? Hate to break it to ya pal, but my heart is unable to be stolen. So turn around, and go back to whatever dark hole you came from. You're not welcome here Riku, if that's even your real name." The girl replied, tightening her grip on her sword. "Where did you come from?"  
  
"Hallow Bastion. That Maleficent bitch threw me out, and...made me come here, I guess, cause I tried to kill her." At that, the girl's eyes widened.  
  
"You were sent here by Maleficent?" She asked, for once not sounding like she wanted to kill him.  
  
"Umm...yeah?" He replied, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"So, another one of her lackeys got pushed too far, and snapped. Good to know. You still have any loyalty to her?"  
  
"Oh hells no! I want nothing more than to kill that evil bitch. She fucked with my life too much, and because of her, I lost..."  
  
"Someone you cared about?"  
  
"...yeah..."  
  
"Welcome to the club. The name's Celeste. And you're on the island of Dirun. This is the other side of the darkness, where Maleficent sends those who betray her. Come on, I'll introduce you to the crowd." The girl told him, sheathing her sword. She started walking, but turned around suddenly. "Oh, and word to the wise. I wouldn't go flaunting your power over the Heartless here. Not all the guys are as merciful as I am." 


	3. Chapter Two: Spot

Chapter Two- Author's Notes ((are now to be found at the end of the chapter))  
*kicks the disclaimers in the balls for not letting her own rights to Riku, that hot, sexy, hunk of.... * AHEM...anyway...  
  
  
It took the better part of an hour to reach the little village where Celeste lived. Riku had asked her why the herb garden was so far away from there, and she replied that it was the only arable piece of land on the entire island. That little spot was actually home to more than the herb garden, but that's where he decided to drop in on her, so of course, that was the only thing that mattered right now. The villagers were growing other crops there too, however, as their alternate source of food.  
  
"The hunting is getting a little scarce these days." Celeste had told him. "Maleficent sent us here to get us away from her, but in a way, she still has control of what goes on here. Let's just say it's just a little better than torture, but the same as suicide." Riku nodded, lost once again in his own thoughts.  
  
"Have you ever thought of eating the Heartless?" He asked. Celeste stopped abruptly, and turned to face him, tiling her head to the side with a look on her face that suggested he just might have gone and grown another head. Or twenty.  
  
"Did you accidentally digest some mugwort when you landed in my garden or something? Are you running a fever?" She quickly started running her hand over his forehead, and through his hair, looking for bumps.  
  
"Hey!" Riku exclaimed, pushing her hand away from his hair, quickly trying to restore it to its prior silver glory. "I'm as fine as I've ever been. And by fine, I mean still completely miserable." Celeste shrugged and continued walking. Riku suddenly drew his sword, facing a nearby bush.  
  
"What the hell are you doing now?" The girl asked, getting quite annoyed with the new stranger.  
  
"Shut up." He told her harshly. Celeste put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.  
  
"I don't see what your problem is. It's only Spot." She said.  
  
"Who?"  
  
To prove the girl's point, a large creature suddenly jumped out of the bushes, scooped Celeste up in its claws, and took to the air.  
  
"Get your dirty claws off of her you...you..." Riku blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. "Dragon?!" He thought he heard Celeste yell something down to him, which sounded like a cry for help. The boy shook his head, muttering to himself as he brought up the fira spell in his mind. He aimed his blade at the creature, and yelled out the spell, satisfied only when he saw it connect with the dragon's wings. It fell quickly from the sky, and in a flash Riku was under it only long enough to catch Celeste before dodging the impact site. He smiled, feeling like he did something right for once, and looked down at the pretty girl he carried in his arms.  
For the first time in his life, as he looked into those beautiful, deep, golden eyes...  
  
He wanted to run like all hell.   
  
Swiftly he set her on her feet, and backed away from her.  
  
"I should kill you." She whispered, trembling with rage. Her movements were swift, and Riku seriously thought he was about to die. When he looked up from under the arms he had used to shield his face, he saw her knelt beside the dragon he had literally shot out of the sky. Her hands were surrounded in a light green glow, which flowed into the dragon. In a few minutes it was up and about, its wings newly healed, and its blue swirling eyes glaring at him as intensely as the girl's had been before. Celeste stood up, and strode over to him, her long legs making short work of the distance between them, balled her fist, and before he knew what was coming, gave him an impressive right hook across the jaw. Riku landed on his back on the ground, and she leaned over him.  
  
"I knew I should have fed you to Spot while you were still unconscious. You're such a bastard." With that, she stood up again, and started running towards the village.  
  
"Celeste, wait! I'm sorry! I thought it was trying to eat you!" Riku yelled after her, standing up, rubbing his throbbing jaw with his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spot walking over to him.  
  
"Spot, look buddy, no hard feelings, right? She's a nice girl, what would you have done if you saw this giant thing fly out and grab her?"   
He tried to appeal to the creature. Its long white neck turned towards him, its eyes sizing him up for a moment. It turned away, leaping into the air to take flight, but not before its tail swept Riku off his feet and back onto the ground with a moan.  
  
"And once again...I'm alone." He sighed, looking up into the darkening sky. The slowly emerging stars twinkled at him, laughing at him, and Riku nonchalantly lifted his right hand, and extended his middle finger.  
  
"That one's for you, Maleficent, you stupid bitch."  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
~~Well, here's the next installment in Riku's little "vacation." I hope you enjoyed it. I might plan on having the actual main characters of KH drop in on Riku in one way or another, dunno yet. You'll just have to wait and find out. ^^ Oooh, I'm so evil. Teehee. Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter up by Sunday, but I'm not sure. I'm getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled on Friday, and I'm going to be out of commission for a day or so. But we'll see how I'm feeling Sunday morning. Until then, happy reading.  
Ah, Merry Yule, by the way. ^^~~ 


End file.
